Buddha's view on other religion
The Buddha taught his disciples to be tolerant of other religions. For example, when one lights a candle from the flame of another candle, the flame of the first candle does not lose its light. Instead, the two lights glow more brightly together. It is the same with the great religions of the world.Source: http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/footsteps.htm Originally posted by lyhmsia at 22-6-2004 12:12:
The Buddha taught his disciples to be tolerant of other religions. For example, when one lights a candle from the flame of another candle, the flame of the first candle does not lose its light. Ins ...
Trying to convert others, i.e Pleading and requesting others to join our religion is NOT something which we are suppose to do. Buddha do not convert anyone. It is they themselves who wants to convert to Buddhism convert themselves.
Also we should not insult the religion and faith of others. Originally posted by ariyamusafir at 22-6-2004 12:33 PM:
Trying to convert others, i.e Pleading and requesting others to join our religion is NOT something which we are suppose to do.
Yup. Actually, two great buddhist Master (Dalai Lama and Thicht Nhat Hant) encourage Buddhist to help others to better understand their own religion. Originally posted by lyhmsia at 22-6-2004 12:36:
Yup. Actually, two great buddhist Master (Dalai Lama and Thicht Nhat Hant) encourage Buddhist to help others to better understand their own religion.
:) Help oneself to understand one's Self first before you can help others. ;) Originally posted by Sephiroth at 22-6-2004 12:46:
Help oneself to understand one's Self first before you can help others. ;)
Yes, in fact, we are our own saviour. The Buddhas are only teachers. No other is our saviour other then ourselves :setuju: good then, setahu saya all religion teaches u to respect other people's believe... I don't know about what Shidtra(?) Gautama said sbout other religion, but from what I see...
As one of the oldest polyteistic religions, it do not forbid or deny the peoples to worship other god.
Buddhism say nothing about other religions because it is about SELF enlightenment. Different Buddhist will have different view on other religions, but they are mostly don't care about other religions, just neutral. The Buddha's way to enlightenment is a philosophy. It's about our everyday life: our doings, what we eat, our thought & surroundings. If we get it right, search from within & without, observe the changes, the cause & the effects, with a clear healthy mind we're sure to reach that state.
In other words, anyone could reach enlightenment for we all have that bodhi seeds within all of us. Everyone from any other religions could become enlightened. There are many other ways of reaching this.
However, people tend to play safe. Some believe following Buddha's way closely could speed up the whole process. For me, everyone should be responsible for themselves. Not listen to interpretation of others & follow blindly. Studying without thinking is futile, thinking without studying is perilous(dangerous)! Judge things according to our wisdom & conscience within. Because you are responsible for your own life, your own deeds. Most of us believed that our own religion is more superior to others. Thus, we belittle the other religion by questioning them. If we抮e sincerely interested to learn other religion to foster harmonious, peaceful, happy and warm community environment than we should encourage such interaction; nevertheless, most of us tend to ask questions in order to demean other teachings. The following is an article written by Master Sheng-Yen on interreligious respect. He抯 a very famous Zen master from Taiwan.
Source: http://www.chan1.org/newscap/b092001a.html
I.Interreligious Respect
During the time of Shakyamuni Buddha, there was once a layman who, originally a devotee of another Indian religion, converted to Buddhism after meeting the Buddha. This layman was uncertain whether or not he could still make offerings to his original teacher. When he learned of the man's confusion, the Buddha told the man he could continue to make offerings to his original teacher just as before. In fact, in the Agama Sutras and Monastic Code preached by the Buddha, the Buddha frequently praises the merit of making offerings not only to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, but also to other religious practitioners such as ascetics and Brahmins. So respecting other religions is a basic criterion for a Buddhist devotee. Therefore, Buddhists will not cause conflicts with followers of other religions, and will always get along with them peacefully, like good neighbors.
This is especially true in the Chinese cultural sphere. Although at times in Chinese history arguments have erupted between Confucians, Buddhists, and Taoists, and there have even been large-scale persecutions of Buddhists, these incidents were all instigated by a small number of politically-connected Confucians and Taoists who used their influence at court to encourage misguided, anti-Buddhist policies. However, relations between ordinary folks of different religions have actually been very cordial. For instance, up to the time when I escaped from mainland China in the1940s, itinerant Buddhist monks could seek lodging in Taoist temples, and itinerant Taoist clerics could pass the night in Buddhist monasteries髏hey respected one another's faith and method of spiritual practice. Chinese maintain that "all paths lead to the same destination." So any religious practitioner who does not go against the basic moral principles of love, peace, and the pursuit of true happiness is worthy of approval regardless of his method of practice. Hence the Chinese saying that "Buddhist monks and Taoist clerics all belong to the same family."
China has a plurality of ethnic groups and a great diversity of religions. At one time in history, the Confucians, due to their self-centeredness and superiority complex, viewed non-Han races as uncivilized barbarians. However, through mutual adaptation and interaction with one another over a long period of time, the Han eventually came to discover that other cultures were also very admirable: not only did these other cultures have much in common with Han culture, but they actually had merits which Han culture lacked. Therefore, in the areas inhabited by Chinese there have been neither religious wars nor implacable enmity between ethnic groups .
Chinese Mahayana Buddhists believe that the good teachings in all religions are the elementary prerequisites for attaining Buddhahood, and that the prophets of all religions are manifestations of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. They have manifested themselves in these various personas only to adapt to different cultures and living environments, so that they may use the most appropriate means to deliver sentient beings. Hence in the 12th century, the Confucian scholar Lu Jiuyuan (1139-1193), influenced by Buddhism, said that "When a sage appears in the East, he has the same mind and realizes the same principle; when a sage appears in the West, he has the same mind and realizes the same principle." This means that all prophets, from whatever geographical area and of whatever religion, have more or less the same love and realize roughly the same truth.
If we use this principle to view all religions, we will respect all religions. While it is perfectly natural for devotees of any particular religion to claim that their own religion is the best, we must also acknowledge and respect the fact that our neighbors and relatives also have the same right to claim their religion is the best. Once on an airplane I was sitting right next to a Christian missionary, who was piously reading the Bible and praying. Seeing that I had nothing to do, he gave me a Bible and showed me how to read it. I praised his good intentions and enthusiasm, and agreed with his statement that Christianity is the only religion through which one can attain salvation. He immediately asked me, "If this is the case, why are you a Buddhist monk? Isn't that a pity?" I said, "I'm sorry, but for me, Buddhism is most suitable. So I would say that Buddhism is the best religion."
Continue: http://www.chan1.org/newscap/b092001a.html
[ Last edited by lyhmsia on 21-12-2004 at 12:14 PM ] Originally posted by ariyamusafir at 22-6-2004 11:33 AM:
Trying to convert others, i.e Pleading and requesting others to join our religion is NOT something which we are suppose to do. Buddha do not convert anyone. It is they themselves who wants to c ...
i must say that i do :setuju: :dia: you...... ;) Originally posted by Acong at 25-12-2004 18:42:
i must say that i do :setuju: :dia: you...... ;)
me?:stp: Originally posted by ariyamusafir at 27-12-2004 02:41 PM:
me?:stp:
why mc Originally posted by Acong at 2-1-2005 18:59:
why mc Originally posted by ariyamusafir at 22-6-2004 12:33 PM:
Trying to convert others, i.e Pleading and requesting others to join our religion is NOT something which we are suppose to do. Buddha do not convert anyone. It is they themselves who wants to c ...
Why?? Wasn't Gautama Buddha himself preached to the world when he has found the answer and reached the staged of Nirwana ??
South Korea and Japan was proud with its Buddhist heritage but today the new generation was much more inclined with the westernization and more and more people have converted to Christianity. Could one day Buddhist no longer practise in those country if Buddhist had this attitude?? Originally posted by Gravedigger at 25-1-2005 13:32:
Why?? Wasn't Gautama Buddha himself preached to the world when he has found the answer and reached the staged of Nirwana ??
South Korea and Japan was proud with its Buddhist her ...
You see, one day there will be a time where Buddha is forgoten by the mortals of the future, and then, there will come a sammasam buddha such as like the great Buddha Gotama. The next sammasam buddha would be Maitreya. Many people have turned to other religions, as one thing I do agree with Sephiroth, that is, many from Buddhist family convert to religion such as Christianity is because they do not really know nor understand about the Buddha's teachings.
Also, this is from personal experience. I use to stay in Kolej Hostel in Setapak. Many times there are Christian Student missionaries knocking door to door inviting people to go to Church. They request to go into your rooms and talk to you for a while. Even when you say know (I said no) also they stll keep on begging or requesting. The last 2 years of my four year stay, they became more aggressive with much more frequent visits. So annoying until I have to say no and aggressively chase them out. Actually, the main reason for my aggresiveness was because I mop and keep my floor clean and I tak nak they come in and dirty it with their legs which is dirty. However, I will still chase them out, only not that aggresive. This is one good example.
As conclusion, people convert because of they do not really understand their religion and because of the strong influence of friends and to a certain extend (not so serious) aggressive action by those people to convert others. In Buddhism, we will not ask you to come join us, only come and see for yourself. You don't want to believe us, we have no problem with that. The buddha is a teacher. If I remembered correctly, there was one maha-Arahant who is a Jainis but after a debate with the buddha, he seek ordinance but was rejected by the Buddha. Later after much, the Buddha accepted him but he must assist those Jainis.
All of us can be a buddha, (sammasam buddha or a pecceka buddha) or a noble arahant one day. Before the Buddha Gotama, there were many other sammasam buddha such as Amitabha or Amitayus, Buddha Padumuttara, Buddha Kassapa, etc. There were many prior to Buddha Gotama. I thin you will get what I am presenting. We can't perfect others. We can ony perfect ourselves. The Buddha is only a teacher. Originally posted by Gravedigger at 25-1-2005 01:32 PM:
Why?? Wasn't Gautama Buddha himself preached to the world when he has found the answer and reached the staged of Nirwana ??
South Korea and Japan was proud with its Buddhist her ...
In my opinion, it's not important if people convert to other religion as long as the religion preach justice, tolerance, peace, compassion, etc. What I fear most is people that abuses religious teaching to benefit their own agenda?
Because of Buddhism, I've learned to respect and appreciate Christians/Muslims that wanted to share their religion with me. by Gravedigger
Why?? Wasn't Gautama Buddha himself preached to the world when he has found the answer and reached the staged of Nirwana ??
South Korea and Japan was proud with its Buddhist heritage but today the new generation was much more inclined with the westernization and more and more people have converted to Christianity. Could one day Buddhist no longer practise in those country if Buddhist had this attitude??
Western philosophy is one where everyone lives in the fast lane as fast as possible - fast food, fast cash, fast guys and girls who jumps in and out of beds and so on.
While such philosophy maybe entertaining and easy to follow, in the long run, it leaves the followers empty and hollow in the inside.
Buddhism will still be followed in the future, but I may fear corruption will set place.
People who have lived all their lives in the fast lane and found no answers will seek it in Buddhism. They will not accept some concepts like reincarnation, Karma and such which doesn't suit their needs. Their needs is to have a quick salvation and Buddhism doesn't do anything quick. So, they may corrupt the teaching with their own philosopy to fit their own agendas and needs. Originally posted by Milo_Ice at 4-7-2004 06:19 PM:
I don't know about what Shidtra(?) Gautama said sbout other religion, but from what I see...
As one of the oldest polyteistic religions, it do not forbid or deny the peoples to worship other god ...
Buddhist don't believe in God or god, how can it be polyteistic? sharing and impossing are totally diffrent.
Buddhist can share the dhamma with others when others 1 2 listen.